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Greece lacrosse 2016
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Greece Lax Reflections – International Showdown in Philly

Long-time LAS reader and contributor James Tsilionis dropped us a line to let us know all about his recent experience with the budding Team Greece and their trip to the Philadelphia International Lacrosse Showdown.

Before we say too much, let’s hear it from James,

“I was fortunate enough to be asked to play for the Greek Nationals in the Philadelphia International Lacrosse Showdown in Bryn Mawr, PA, over Memorial Day weekend. Our squad was composed of mostly college kids, ranging from DI, DII, DIII and MCLA college playters, to recently graduated high school players, and some post college players as well, including Boston Cannons face-off specialist Peter Vlahakis. All of these players were gathered by Paul Katsiaunis, another player on the team. To be honest, I had no idea what to expect coming in, but Paul did an incredible job securing funding for our uniforms, hotels, as well as assembling a coaching staff and a roster full of talent from all over the U.S.

On the first day of the tournament, May 27th, we played against team Israel U-19, which was a team full of current and future college players. We played a hard fought game with a team that had played together numerous times, and ended up losing in the final minutes with a score of 8-7. As much as I dislike losing, playing a close game with a group of guys that had never played together before, against a team of well practiced players gave us all some hope for the tournament.

Greece lacrosse 2016

The rest of the weekend was peppered with close games, with us losing to Team Philippines, whose roster had a number of current/former college and even professional players, by two goals. We lost to Team Hungary in overtime, 7-6. I collected some GoPro footage from the game, check above for the highlights!

On the last day, we were given the opportunity to play Israel in the 3rd place game. We got ahead in the first half to a margin of 4-2. Israel made a comeback, and we ended up tied at the end of the game, 6-6. Fortunately, one of our midfielders, Niko Kakos, scored the overtime goal down the alley with a lefty shot. Avenging our first loss of the tournament was sweet, but there was no animosity after the game, whatsoever. Team Israel, as well as Team Philippines, Team Hungary, and even our own squad, were made up of a bunch of really cool guys who want to see the growth of lacrosse.

Just some quick thanks to Paul Katsiaunis for getting the squad together, Nick Anagnostis for being an awesome coach, the event organizers, staff, Teams Israel, Hungary, Philippines, Tuvunu Greek Tea for sponsoring the team, and for all the players who traveled across the country to play!”

The event in Philadelphia was organized to give a handful of U19 teams from around the globe a look a new competition before heading to Coquitlam, BC, Canada for the U19 World Lacrosse Championships from July 7th through the 16th!

Need a who’s who for this month’s games? Don’t stress it, Connor has you covered!